SPSA

Newsletter
n s i d e
I Presidential Update.............................. Page 2
Thesis/dissertations Updates..........Pages 3-4
Internship Placements.........................Page 5
NASP in Retrospect...............................Page 6
In Other News...........................................Page 7-8
Summer Sendoff Pics............................Page 9
Social Spot..................................................Page 10
 PRESIDENTIAL
UPDATE

Hello Everyone,
Happy summer! I hope you all have been able to enjoy long, sunny days at the beach,
(stay-) vacationing with family or friends, or other enjoyable activities outside of work and;
school!
Speaking of summer activities, our “Summer Sendoff” cookout was held on Saturday,
June 15th at USF Riverfront Park. About 20 students (and two furry friends!) celebrated the
2018-19 school year and our students who will be starting internships this fall!
Other updates from SPSA include the onboarding of 12 mentors to support the 12 new
students who will be joining the Fall 2019 cohort. Joe has been coordinating mentorship
and he led a 1-hour interactive training for mentors in May that was developed based on
feedback from the 2018-19 mentors and to supplement our new Mentor Guidelines. Since
then, our mentors have been fielding great questions from the incoming students and we
look forward to meeting all of the new cohort members in August! In early fall, please also
keep your eye out for information regarding SPSA Leadership Elections.
This edition of the SPSA newsletter includes highlights from the spring and summer
semesters. A special thanks to the newsletter and media team members – Sandra, Letty,
and Sarahy – who have done a wonderful job putting content together throughout the year
within the newsletters and on our Facebook Page!
Happy reading!
Sarah
SPSA President 2018-19
 Congrats to all who proposed or defended
their thesis/dissertation!!!
Destiny Singleton - Thesis Defense
"Supporting Students with Chronic Health
Conditions: An Evaluation of School Nurses'
Collaborative Practices with School Psychologists"
February 25
Sujay Sabnis - Dissertation Defense
"Cognitivism in School Psychologists’
Understanding of Cultural Responsiveness:  A
Critical Discourse Analysis"
March 21
Casie Peet - Dissertation Proposal
"Facilitating Early Intervention Through Teacher
Training in Brief Functional Behavior Assessment"
March 27
Courtney DeForest-Williams - Project Proposal
"Screen to Intervene: Evaluating the Impact of
Teacher Training on the Identification of Risk in a
Population of Rural Elementary Students"
April 4
Tara Delach - Dissertation Proposal
"Parent Perceptions of the Acceptability, Effectiveness
and Experience of Engaging in the Group Stepping
Stones Triple P Intervention for Parents of Children
with Disabilities"
March 4
Kristin Edwards - Dissertation Proposal
"The Effect of a Brief Educational Intervention on
Sleep Hygiene Knowledge in Parents of
Randomized Controlled Trial"
March 25
Olivia Hernandez Gonzalez - Dissertation Proposal
"Play Behaviors in Latino Dual Language Learners:
The Relation between Maternal Classroom Peer
Play"
March 27
Sarah Thoman - Thesis Defense
"Evaluation of the Psychometric Properties of the
Systems Coaching Survey"
May 13
 Congrats to all who proposed or defended
their thesis/dissertation!!!

Marissa Gormley - Project Proposal Cashea Holyfield - Thesis Defense

"Tiered Training for Teachers using the Good "Demographic Predictors and Reasons for Chronic
Behavior Game in Classrooms with Students with Absenteeism among Secondary Students with
Emotional and Behavioral Disorders" Disabilities"

May 23 May 31

Mercedes Cambric - Dissertation Defense Leah Bonilla- Dissertation Defense

"Validating the Construct of Resiliency in the Health "Ethnic Identity as a Protective Factor in Early
Literacy and Resiliency Scale (HLRRS-Y) with the Adolescent Youth Depression:  An Investigation of
Child and Youth Resiliency Measure (CYRM-28)" Differences by Race and Gender"
June 10 June 12

Olivia Hernandez Gonzalez- Dissertation Defense Kai Zhuang Shum- Dissertation Defense

"Play Behaviors in Latino Dual Language Learners:  "Investigating the Effects of Motivational Interviewing
The Relationship between Maternal Characteristics Compared to Action Planning on Supporting the
and Classroom Peer Play" Emotional and Academic Success of Ninth Grade
Students in Advanced Placement Classes"
June 14 July 8

Hannah Gilfix - Thesis Defense Haley Cote- Project Proposal

"An Application of a Universal Positive Psychology
"Character Strengths of Ninth Grade Students in
Intervention in Elementary School Classes in
Accelerated Curricula: A Mixed-Methods
Grades 1 - 5: Acceptability and Changes in
Investigation"
Students'Subjective Well-Being"
July 8 July 9

Rachel Bailey - Thesis Proposal

Melissa Aguirre: North Kansas City School District (Kansas City, MO)
Rachel Bailey: EASTCONN (Columbia, CT)
Camille Hanks: Pinellas County Schools
Marissa Gormley: Palm Beach County Schools
Amanda Moseley: Sarasota County Schools
Casie Peet: Pinellas County Schools
David Rubio: Kennedy Krieger Institute/Johns Hopkins, Behavior Management
Clinic (Baltimore, MD)
Haley Seward Cote: Pasco County Schools
Amarah Shakir: Pasco County Schools
Kai Shum: Pinellas County Schools
Nicholas Smith: Mailman Center for Child Development/Univ. of Miami, School
Health (Miami, FL)
Emily Wingate: Cypress-Fairbanks Independent School District (Houston, TX)
 NASP in Restrospect

Congrats to our own Casie Peet on receiving

the NASP Graduate Student Research Grant!
 IN OTHER NEWS!!!

Congratulations to 2nd year cohort members Jennifer Hodnett and

Trish Hanson for the recent recognition of their student organization
No LGBTQ+ Child Left Behind! Their organization focuses on educating
pre-service teachers on best practices with LGBTQ+ students by
bringing a panel of LGBTQ+ students into their classes. They also
created a mentorship program where they match LGBTQ+
professionals with undergrads who need a career mentor. An
additional shout out to Johnathan Coker, who is on the executive board
for the student group, and Dr. Leia Cain, the group’s faculty advisor!
 IN OTHER NEWS!!!

Even if you are not presenting

Save the Date
PARTICIPATE!
 SUMMER SENDOFF PICS!!!

Psss... if you want more info about what is going on

in our program you can always visit our Facebook
page and don't forget to follow us!!!
 Social Spot

Congratulations to Brittany
Hearon on her wedding!
May your life together be full of love and your love be full of life!